All AL West ALCS continues horrible nightmare that is the 2023 season

The 2023 season was a major disappointment for the Los Angeles Angels. They went 73-89 for a second consecutive season, missing the playoffs for the ninth straight year. They went 17-38 after the trade deadline to go from a team that looked like it could compete to a clear laughing stock once again.

As the offseason nears, the Angels can only wonder what their future holds. Is there any chance Shohei Ohtani stays? Who will manage? What's Mike Trout going to do? These are just some of many questions that will have to be answered.

While the Angels are focusing on the offseason, the MLB postseason is in full swing. The ALDS has wrapped up, and the Angels season continues to take a turn for the worst with the nightmare ALCS matchup.

An Astros Rangers ALCS matchup is the last thing any Angels fan wanted to see

This felt inevitable for much of the year as the Rangers were dominating the AL throughout the entire first half and the Astros just always find a way. Some struggles down the stretch forced the Rangers into a Wild Card spot but that hasn't phased them as they've gone through the first two rounds of the postseason a perfect 5-0. They swept the Rays and Orioles in back-to-back series to meet Houston in the ALCS.

The Rangers made the postseason after Chris Young was ultra-aggressive the last couple of offseason. A plethora of free agent signings paired with some big trades made at the deadline and a decent core have Texas as a legitimate World Series contender. For the Astros, this is nothing new. This is their seventh (!) consecutive ALCS appearance. Just bonkers.

These two AL West rivals meeting in the ALCS is just the latest slap in the face to Angels fans who now have to watch one of the teams they cannot stand win the AL Pennant.

While rooting for Houston to lose feels obvious, it's not like Texas winning is the best consolation prize, either. Can both teams just lose?